By big city standards, Rome, located in central New York State, is a small, sleepy town. But Rome is a small, sleepy town that for twenty years has hosted one of the premiere classic movie festivals in the country. A cinephile’s dream, Capitolfest offers silent and early talkies for three straight days every August. In about three weeks, from August 9 to 11, I will be in the gorgeous, 1,700-seat, 1927 Capitol Theatre, listening to the sounds of a 1928 Möller organ, and watching movies I have never seen for the twenty-first Capitolfest. I wish you the same good fortune.
Each Capitolfest focuses on a featured actor. As you can see from this year’s poster, there are two charming players spotlighted this year, Edward Everett Horton, and Regis Toomey. Although I like both actors immensely, nearly all the pictures scheduled at this Capitolfest are new-to-me, as is the usual case. Still, I went through the schedule carefully and following are the ones I am looking forward to the most:
Scheduled on the first day of the festival is Donald Gallaher’s Temple Tower from 1930, which is the second Bulldog Drummond picture with dialogue. Starring Kenneth MacKenna and Marceline Day, this sounds like terrific fun. Then there’s Fred Newmeyer’s That’s My Daddy (1928), a comedy starring Regis Toomey. Ending the Friday schedule as what they refer to as the War Horse is Mark Sandrich’s delightful The Gay Divorcee (1934). War Horse screenings are usually better-known pictures, and this is one I have seen many times but never on a big screen.
The Saturday schedule is replete with short subject presentations including some from the Laurel or Hardy collection, which are fantastic. I am also looking forward to the chapters of The Leather Pushers, a 1922 series starring Regis Toomey. Two new-to-me pre-codes caught my eye immediately though, Berthold Viertel’s The Wiser Sex (1932) with Claudette Colbert, Melvyn Douglas, Lilyan Tashman, William “Stage” Boyd, Ross Alexander, and Franchot Tone, and Tay Garnett’s Okay, America! (1932) starring Lew Ayres and Maureen O’Sullivan. I should add that both are to be presented in 35mm.
An almost entire day of silent movies awaits on Sunday, which also means the other worldly experience of live film music. Accompanying on the Möller throughout the weekend will be maestros, David Peckham, Dr. Philip C. Carli, Avery Tunningley, and Ben Model. Capitolfest and the movies would not be the same without them.
You should know that in addition to feature films and short subjects, Capitolfest offers cartoons throughout the weekend, which are always fun. You get the picture. This is as close to what the movie experience was back in the day as can be put together. In between screenings you can also enjoy shopping in the Dealer’s Room, where I spend more time than I should every year.
One final thing. You may have heard that a tornado tore through Rome just a week ago. I have been monitoring updates on the Capitolfest Facebook page and am happy to see no one was hurt. There was damage on the street where Capitolfest takes place, and the small Cinema Capitol, an important part of the Cinema Arts Complex, sustained considerable damage and will remain closed indefinitely. If you can donate to help restore the Cinema and with general expenses necessary to maintain a movie palace, you may do so at the Capitol Arts Complex Tornado Relief Fund.
As far as film festivals go, we are lucky. The grand ole Capitol Theatre is safe and ready to greet us for this 21st festival. We will once again be watching motion pictures from one hundred years ago the way they should be seen.
Bonus:
Once upon a screen... 
definitely going and I can’t wait! We even put off our vacation to wait for Capitolfest. Love that theater!
Great!!! See you there